German Wines & Ristorante DaVinci

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

DaVinci, davinciLB.com, at the airport in Long Beach was having a dinner accompanied by a selection of German wines. The importer "Rudi Wiest Selections" has a nice selection of wines.

I had only been to DaVinci's for cocktails and appetizers before and had not been over impressed with the service. The food had been good but a little overpriced for what is was.

This was the first actual dinner I attended so I was looking forward to seeing if my other observations were wrong.

Dinner was set at 6:30 but we were told to be there by 6:00. Arriving at 5;50 we went upstairs via the elevator and checked in. We were told seating would not take place until 6:30 so did we want to have a drink at the bar or outside . Nice tactic on their part to extract additional monies.

We went outside and sat down next to one of the taxi runways. The evening was very nice and the ambiance was good. The service as in the past "sucked". By time we got our drink it was time to be seated for dinner.

As we entered the dining area we were served a glass of "semi" sparkling wine which was a nice gesture. The person serving turned out be Anna, a server from the old Delius Restaurant. She had left 4 or 5 years ago and made her rounds in the different restaurants in Long Beach. I knew we would have good service tonight as Anna is very competent.

So now I am sitting with my "martini", my sparkling and they pour the first wine of the evening. Anyone looking at me must have thought "boy can she drink". They also set down the "Amuse Bouche" which was a soft cheese on top of a thinly sliced something. I honestly can't remember exactly what is was because its been 6 weeks since dinner. ( I am behind on my posts due to damaging my right arm and not being up to par for awhile)

First course was "Shaved Fennel Salad with Santa Barbara Prawns" The only food I really dislike is fennel (I'm not a anise or licorice person). Surprisingly the fennel was shaved so thin and had a light dressing on the that you could not tell what is was. The prawns were cold and just this side of being tough. They were OK but not great. This dish was served with a Rhein River 2007 Riesling, Rheinhessen.The pairing was very good and I thought this wine was the best of the 4 were served.

Second course was "Lobster Ravioli served in a Lemon Consomme". I not sure what the lemon consomme added to the dish. It did not distract but added nothing also. The ravioli were good. The wine was a big disappointment. A Rebholz 2005, Muller Thurgau, Pfalz. Frankly the wine was anoxeic, nothing was there but a slight flavored water. No finish, no nothing.

Third course was a "Spiced Rubbed Pork Belly served with Wild Mushroom Risotto and a Cherry Balsamic Glaze". When this dish was served they put a large steak knife down to cut it with. ( Come up with your opinion on that). The flavor was good, the sauce was good. The risotto was "al dente". I was told that the chef likes it that way. So then let the chef eat it. Risotto is not "al dente". It should be soft with body and creaminess. Vino Cucina knows how to make risotto. Da Vinci could take a lesson from them. This dish was served with 2 wines. A Franz Kunstler 2005 Pinot Noir, Rheingau (the second disappointment in wine). This wine had no body and was way to light for the dish it was served with. I know German Pinots are lighter than French Bugundies but this was not a good selection at all. The second wine was a Dr. F. Wein-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr, 2006 Reisling Spatlese, Mosel. This wine was good and paired much better with the pork belly than the pinot.

Dessert was a "Mascarpone Panna Cotta with Forest Berries". A nice, simple common dessert. Nothing to get excited about but also nothing to complain about. It was just there.

But with all my negative comments I should say that the dinner was only $55. So taking that into account it was OK . It was not on the same level as the "Rudi Weist" dinner at Delius last year but it was also considerably cheaper. You get what you pay for.

But 6 of us can get together at Vino Cucina, bring our own wine, have excellent food (the chef from DaVinci should take some cooking lessons from them), pay corkage, tax & tip and have a better meal at $30 to $40. Yes I know I did not include the cost of wine in the equation. But I would drink the bottle at home if I did not go out to dinner.

Would I do another wine dinner at DaVinci ? Probably if it was still priced low.